Monday, April 13, 2026: 'Underutilized Fish: Boarfish'

Today in Tokyo, it is basically sunny with occasional clouds.
The morning low was 11.5°C, and the daytime high was a bit over 23°C.
Man, it was really hot over the weekend, especially on Saturday.
Even though it's early April, having days that are 'summer days' or even 'midsummer days'—what's up with that? It was so hot that it made me wonder what's going to happen from here on out. Anyway,

Last weekend, I wrote about 'Fermented Beverage (Sake): Shosetsu (Kanzawagawa Sake Brewery)', but today I would like to write about the 'underutilized fish: Boarfish'.

Boarfish.
I wonder how many people have heard of it.
I'm not even sure if I've seen it before. At the very least, I don't think I've ever seen it at the Toyosu or Tsukiji markets.
So, if you're someone who doesn't usually pay much attention to fish, I suppose it's only natural that you've never seen or heard of it.

This time, I found it during an irregular patrol of the local Toyohashi Fish Market in Aichi Prefecture, so I bought it immediately.
But still, even though the sizes vary, 475 yen including tax for 5 to 10 fish is, in a sense, a throwaway price.
I felt sorry for the boarfish, so I decided to rescue them (lol).

The boarfish is a saltwater fish belonging to the Pentacerotidae family, and its relatives include the similar-looking Japanese boarfish, Boarfish (Pentaceros japonicus), and Pelagic armorhead.
They all have a unique, tall, and flattened body shape.
The way their faces are upturned is just like the Japanese boarfish, and in terms of color, they resemble the boarfish.
This fish seems to inhabit sandy areas and rocky reefs along the Pacific coast from Tohoku south to the southern coast of Kyushu, and along the Sea of Japan coast from Niigata to the northwestern coast of Kyushu, so it seems to be found in quite a wide area.
Also, outside of Japan, it seems to inhabit a fairly wide range, including south of the Korean Peninsula, Australia, and the Arabian Peninsula.

Because they are distributed over a relatively wide habitat, they are caught in bottom trawls and set nets in various parts of Japan, but they are rarely caught in large quantities, and as a result, they don't enter the distribution chain much and end up as underutilized or low-utilized fish.

But you know, this fish is also very delicious.
I bought 5 fish for 475 yen this time, but if it's a fish this tasty, I personally think I'd be willing to pay about 300 to 500 yen per fish.

This time, I ate it as sashimi, seared, and grilled with salt. The skin has a unique umami, and although it is a light white fish, it also has a fair amount of fat. When grilled, the meat flakes off easily, and the flavor is perfect.
If I had to name one drawback, it's that the head is large and the yield is low, so you have to be creative and use the scraps for things like clear soup or grilled dishes so as not to waste anything (well, if you do that, it's not a problem at all).
Oh my, it's delicious.

This fish is often eaten in the Seto Inland Sea coastal areas and Shikoku as simmered, grilled with salt, in miso soup, clear soup, or deep-fried.
In any case, like the Japanese boarfish and boarfish, this is a type of white fish whose umami increases when heated, so the cooking methods mentioned above are suitable.
Well, regardless, since there is so little of it in circulation, it doesn't go beyond the realm of fisherman's cuisine or home cooking.
So, if you see this fish somewhere, buy it immediately!

Tomorrow, I would like to tell you about the cooking utensil 'Taru Holic' / 'Glass Top Smoker'.